I wanted to warn people about the shady business dealings of National Resort Title LLC, 1779 Newport Hwy, Sevierville TN 37876. They are doing business on eBay as Travel 4 You (user name is Travel4you5). I am guessing that they may have multiple user names and/or change them frequently as their emails and eBay user seem to all be Travel4You plus a number. I purchased a HGVC timeshare from them on eBay (user name is Travel4you5). Kelly Gillispie from Travel 4 You sent me a contract and payment forms to complete. Throughout the process, I identified multiple red flags including his instances that I provide Travel 4 You my payment info and not the title company, inconsistencies in the documentation that he provided (multiple names on the payment forms, hand written estoppel with incorrect details, etc.). I then did some digging into the title company that he wanted to use, National Resort Title, and discovered multiple BBB complaints. I also discovered that Kelly was listed as a registered agent for this National Resort Title according to the Tennessee Secretary of State Business services. This is an obvious conflict of interest as he was the seller and the person that I was supposed to send the escrow money to? When I asked Kelly about this he said he had no affiliation with National Resort Title but it was one of 3 title companies that they use. When I called National Resort Title nobody answered but I eventually received a call back from a women and from a different number stating she was with National Resort title (I think she said her name was Morgan but I could be mistaken) who said that National Resort Title was the "in house" title company for Travel 4 You. She also said that she hadn't received my file but explained the process to me. Later in the call when I ask about how the refund process works if the First Right of Refusal is exercised by Hilton, she miraculously knew the exact amount of what the full refund would be. There is no doubt in my mind that National Resort Title and Travel 4 You are the same company and Kelly Gillispie is an agent for both. When I provided the email evidence to Kelly that he was listed as a registered agent for this National Resort Title according to the Tennessee Secretary of State Business services, he completely disengaged and wanted to cancel the contract. I offered to pay the full amount in the contract including the closing cost for National Resort Title if we used a separate escrow only service to hold my payment until the transaction was complete. He declined and backed out of the contract. A seller in a real estate transaction (which a deeded timeshare is considered) does not have the authority to require a buyer to use a specific title company especially if the buyer is paying the closing cost. Considering all of the potential red flags, specifically that Kelly is an agent of the seller and title company, I as the buyer felt I had the right to request a different title company but would have settled for a escrow only service where I know my money is protect if the deal falls through because the estoppel wasn't authentic/accurate or Hilton exercise its First right of refusal. National Resort Title did not grant me that right even though I would have paid for it myself and still paid the full closing amount to National Resort Title for the paperwork they completed. The only logical explanation is that this is a scam that I did not fall for, otherwise, they would allow the money to be escrowed somewhere else to ensure I am protected if it falls through. See below for a listing of all the red flags. It is a good list of things to look out for when by a timeshare through eBay. It is in somewhat chronological order to follow how I went from a few red flags to some major ones. At best this is a dishonest company that does not disclose they are forcing you to use themselves as the closing company where you are not actually sending your payment to an independent escrow account where you would not be at all protected if the deal falls through (and judging by the multiple BBB complaints against them, many have). At worst these are scammers who use multiple eBay names to take peoples money without any intentions on completing the contract.
- He ended the auction 12:00 AM on Friday but his office and the title company were closed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
- He has been a member of eBay only since 2019. Have 84 feedback during that time but only 17 were from selling items and the rest from buying items. I am guessing it is small transactions to just beef up the rating but that is speculation on my part but easily verifiable by eBay. All the selling feedback with the exception of one item was from over 12 months ago. The only recent (within 6 months) selling feedback is neutral, not positive. My guess is because they held off on submitting feedback until close to the 60 day deadline and the transaction was still not complete and they were sure if it would be. Again, speculation on my part but easily verifiable by eBay.
- The contract he sent made no mention of the escrow or refund process if the right of first refusal was exercised
- He sent me an estoppel with all the details hand written that anyone could have created. It was not the official HGVC estoppel that is signed and authorized from Hilton as he stated you would provide to me
- The fees he stated on your so called estoppel do not even appear to be accurate. The maintenance and transfer fees are set by Hilton and consistent based on the unit type. That is why I wanted to see the estoppel because I know what the maintenance and transfer fees should have been and wasn’t sure where your numbers were coming from.
- He was pushy and continued to pressure me to pay immediately despite not directly answering the questions I was repeatedly asking or providing the requested documentation
- The e-check one time authorization form he sent me to fill out was to give "Travel 4 You" the authorization to debit my checking account, not the title company even though he confirmed that I would pay the title company directly prior to me bidding so I should not be giving Travel 4 You authorization for payment
- He was insistent that I send him the payment information and not directly to the title company
- He then sent me the banking info to wire the money to the title company account instead of it coming directly from them
- The title company never contact me directly
- I placed 5 calls throughout various times on Monday 10/5/2020. Travel 4 You or National Resort Title never answered my calls and it always went to voicemail. This doesn’t include the calls I made on Sunday that I was not expecting an answer but just checking to see if by chance someone would answer since even though it was not during business hours since I was receiving info from them.
- All the call backs that I received were from a different numbers. The returned call I got from Travel 4 You was a Utah number even though they were in TN. National Resort Tile also came from a different number compare to the number I called. They also only contacted me after I told Travel 4 You that I was waiting on a call from them which I then received minutes after telling him
- The person I spoke with at the title company said that National Resort Title was the “in house” title company for Travel 4 You. She also said that she hadn’t received my file but later in the call when I ask about how the refund process works if the First Right of Refusal is exercised by Hilton, she miraculously knew the exact amount of what the full refund would be
- Within minutes National Resort Title calling me, Travel 4 You emailed me stating that they have now called me and verified everything so I had to pay immediately
- I then looked into National Resort Title a found they had 7 Better Business Bureau complaints against them
- There are multiple addresses provided for National Resort Title, one appears to be for a gas station and the other for a commercial space that is available for rent.
- I identified that Kelly Gillispie who had been contacting me from Travel 4 You was listed as a registered agent of National Resort Title that he wanted me to send the "escrow" money to which I was not comfortable with.
- Kelly then declined my offer to use a separate escrow service even though I would have paid for it and I still would have paid the other closing cost in full and pulled out of the contract
- Then he reposted another HGVC 7,000 point listing at eBay with nearly identical information
- He never was able to explain any of the potentially shady actions but instead said "haha" and that the reposting was not identical as it was a 3 bedroom and not a 2 bedroom as he had before.
